Frank Jemsek, owner of Jemsek Golf based in Lemont, Illinois, has been chosen as the 2023 recipient of the ASGCA Donald Ross Award. The award, given annually since 1976, is presented to a person who has made a significant contribution to the game of golf and the profession of golf course architecture. It will be presented to Jemsek at the ASGCA Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, on Oct. 3 at the Donald Ross Banquet.
Jemsek Golf was founded by Frank’s father, Joe Jemsek, who first brought Frank into the family business when he was just 11 years old. More than seven decades later, Frank Jemsek continues to positively impact golfers of all ages and abilities at courses that include: Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, Lemont, Illinois; Pine Meadow Golf Course, Mundelein, Illinois; St. Andrews Golf & Country Club, West Chicago, Illinois; and Summer Grove Golf Club, Newnan, Georgia.
The Jemsek model is to make every course challenging for the advanced golfer and more friendly for the higher handicapper. To that end, he’s an innovator in developing and implementing grow-the-game initiatives such as Family Golf, No Embarrassment Golf School, Youth on Course and PGA Jr. Golf League. Frank has always searched for ways to make the game he loves accessible to all.
“The ASGCA Donald Ross Award recognizes those making a significant contribution to the game,” said ASGCA President Brit Stenson. “Frank Jemsek and the Jemsek family have been doing that nearly as long as ASGCA has been in existence! Beginning with Joe Jemsek and continuing through Frank to his daughter, Katherine, one thing the Jemseks have done exceedingly well is to listen. They ask new and established golfers what they need from a golf facility and they have provided it. This positive impact will continue to be felt for generations to come.”
Frank Jemsek is an Illinois Golf Hall of Fame member and was the first public golf course manager to join the Club Management Association of America. Jemsek facilities have hosted numerous national events, including United States Amateur Championship, U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, Western Open, Western Junior, BMW Championship and PGA Junior Boys and Girls Championship.
The Donald Ross Award is presented by the ASGCA Awards Committee, co-chaired by ASGCA Past Presidents Steve Smyers, ASGCA, and Rees Jones, ASGCA Fellow (the 2013 Donald Ross Award recipient).
Past Donald Ross Award Recipients
2022 John Lawrence, The Toro Company
2021 Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, ASGCA, golf course architects
2020 Renee Powell, golf pioneer/player/course owner
2019 Joe Passov, golf writer
2018 President George Herbert Walker Bush, U.S. President
2017 Alice Dye, ASGCA Fellow, golf course architect
2016 Michael Bamberger, golf writer
2015 Bradley S. Klein, golf writer
2014 Maj. Dan Rooney, founder, Folds of Honor Foundation
2013 Rees Jones, ASGCA, golf course architect
2012 Bill Kubly, golf course builder
2011 James Dodson, golf writer/editor
2010 Tim Finchem, PGA Tour Commissioner
2009 Ron Dodson, sustainable golf advocate
2008 George Peper, golf writer
2007 Dr. Michael Hurdzan, ASGCA, golf course architect
2006 Jim Awtrey, chief executive officer, PGA of America
2005 John Singleton, irrigation pioneer
2004 Thomas Cousins, philanthropist, urban golf developer
2003 Bill Campbell, president, USGA, captain, Royal & Ancient Golf Club
2002 Byron Nelson, professional golfer
2001 Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA, professional golfer, golf course architect
2000 Jaime Ortiz-Patino, owner and president, Valderrama Golf Club
1999 Arnold Palmer, professional golfer
1998 Judy Bell, president, USGA
1997 Gene Sarazen, professional golfer
1996 Ron Whitten, golf writer
1995 Pete Dye, ASGCA, golf course architect
1994 James R. Watson, agronomist
1993 Brent Wadsworth, golf course builder
1992 Paul Fullmer, ASGCA executive secretary
1991 Michael Bonallack, secretary, Royal & Ancient Golf Club
1990 John Zoller, executive director, Northern California Golf Association
1989 Dick Taylor, editor, “Golf World” magazine
1988 Frank Hannigan, executive director, USGA
1987 Charles Price, writer, “Golf World” magazine
1986 Deane Beman, commissioner, PGA Tour
1985 Peter Dobereiner, “London Observer” columnist, author
1984 Dinah Shore, sponsor of women’s golf tournaments
1983 Al Radko, director, USGA Green Section
1982 Geoffrey Cornish, ASGCA, golf course architect, historian
1981 James Rhodes, governor of Ohio
1980 Gerald Micklem, captain, Royal & Ancient
1979 Joe Dey, executive director, USGA
1978 Herb and Joe Graffis, founders, National Golf Foundation
1977 Herbert Warren Wind, “The New Yorker” columnist, author
1976 Robert Trent Jones, ASGCA, ASGCA founding member
ASGCA Background
Founded in 1946 by Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones and 12 other leading architects, the American Society of Golf Course Architects is a non-profit organization comprised of experienced golf course designers located throughout North America. Members have completed a rigorous application process that includes the peer review of representative golf courses. ASGCA members are able to counsel in all aspects of golf course design and remodeling and comprise many of the great talents throughout the golf industry.
For more information about ASGCA, including a current list of members, visit http://www.asgca.org or call (262) 786-5960.
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